---
title: "Jessica Carla Kicklighter | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jessica-carla-kicklighter-ga-magistrate-6a5e855b3b8385f2ff8fd658"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-08-25"
---

# Jessica Carla Kicklighter

Pierce County Magistrate Court · Judge

## Profile

- Court: Pierce County Magistrate Court
- State: Georgia
- Role: Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-08-25

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### electronic devices and recording

Scope: statewide

Georgia's class-specific Uniform Court Rules govern electronic devices and recording in state trial courts. Before using recording, photography, livestreaming, or similar courtroom technology, confirm the governing rule and the assigned court's procedure.

Evidence excerpt: Uniform Superior, Juvenile, Magistrate, Municipal and Probate Court Rules

[Supreme Court of Georgia, court orders amending Uniform Trial Court Rules](https://www.gasupreme.us/rules/amendments-to-rules)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://georgiacourts.knack.com/gcd2/#directory-entries/entry-details/6a5e855b3b8385f2ff8fd658/)
- [Official roster](https://georgiacourts.knack.com/gcd2/#directory-entries/entry-details/6a5e855b3b8385f2ff8fd658/)
- [Supreme Court of Georgia, court orders amending Uniform Trial Court Rules](https://www.gasupreme.us/rules/amendments-to-rules)
- [Judicial Council of Georgia Administrative Office of the Courts official judicial roster](https://georgiacourts.knack.com/gcd2/#directory-entries/entry-details/6a5e855b3b8385f2ff8fd658/)

## JSON-LD

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "WebPage",
      "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jessica-carla-kicklighter-ga-magistrate-6a5e855b3b8385f2ff8fd658",
      "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jessica-carla-kicklighter-ga-magistrate-6a5e855b3b8385f2ff8fd658",
      "name": "Jessica Carla Kicklighter | KnowJudges",
      "description": "Jessica Carla Kicklighter, Pierce County Magistrate Court. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.",
      "dateModified": "2026-08-25",
      "isPartOf": {
        "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website"
      },
      "mainEntity": {
        "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jessica-carla-kicklighter-ga-magistrate-6a5e855b3b8385f2ff8fd658#judge"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Person",
      "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jessica-carla-kicklighter-ga-magistrate-6a5e855b3b8385f2ff8fd658#judge",
      "name": "Jessica Carla Kicklighter",
      "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jessica-carla-kicklighter-ga-magistrate-6a5e855b3b8385f2ff8fd658",
      "jobTitle": "Judge",
      "worksFor": {
        "@type": "GovernmentOrganization",
        "name": "Pierce County Magistrate Court"
      },
      "sameAs": [
        "https://georgiacourts.knack.com/gcd2/#directory-entries/entry-details/6a5e855b3b8385f2ff8fd658/"
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "KnowJudges",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "Georgia",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/georgia"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 3,
          "name": "Jessica Carla Kicklighter",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jessica-carla-kicklighter-ga-magistrate-6a5e855b3b8385f2ff8fd658"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

## Biography

### Professional career

- The case has been delayed for years due to procedural requirements, changes in defense counsel, and motions, with a trial currently set for January 2027
- The active judge is Judge Jay Stewart, who is managing the Tattnall County death penalty trial for the Kicklighter murder

### Education



### Additional information

- In March 2026, Judge Stewart expressed frustration over repeated delays in setting a trial date, calling the situation “like trying to nail jello to a wall”
- Judge Stewart is handling the ongoing trial scheduling and legal proceedings for Nathan Weekes and Christopher Reginald Sumlin Jr., both facing the death penalty for the January 2021 murder of Bobby Kicklighter
- The judge presiding over the death penalty case for the murder of Bobby Carlton Kicklighter Jr. is Judge Jay Stewart of Tattnall County, Georgia



## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Georgia Magistrate Court Rule 15 — virtual proceedings](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-92c085addd8bb83007e0ba04) — Georgia Magistrate Courts only. Virtual proceedings; consent, exceptions and judicial orders control. Dated 2023 source, later amendments not exhaustively certified. [Official source](https://www.gasupreme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Order-approving-Magistrate-videoconferencing-rules_entered.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.